For most people, household income is the most important determinant of their economic well-being and their ability to support a minimum material standard of living. Household income also contributes to the economic well-being of the communities and regions in which people live. Although people may receive income from a number of sources, over 80% of all income earned by Australian taxpayers is derived from wages and salaries.

Analysing geographical variations in average Wage and salary income can provide valuable information about the relative advantage or disadvantage of different regions. The data presented in this article can be used to explore questions such as:

Which LGAs had higher average Wage and salary income compared to others?

Which LGAs experienced higher growth in Wage and salary income compared to others?

Which LGAs with high average Wage and salary income experienced either above or below average income growth?

Which LGAs with low average Wage and salary income experienced either above or below average income growth?

The following are some highlights for local government areas from the Perspectives article.

In Australia, the average income from wages and salaries was $46,599 in 2008-09. This amount has increased from $36,889 in 2003-04, at an average annual rate of 4.8%. Map 1 shows regional variations in average annual Wage and salary income in 2008-09 by Local Government Area (LGA). The LGAs with the highest average income from wages and salaries were the inner metropolitan areas of Australia's capital cities or mining areas, such as Roebourne (S) in Western Australia and Roxby Downs (M) in South Australia. However, the majority of LGAs recorded average Wage and salary incomes below the Australian average, and these were generally located outside of major cities.

Map 1. AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE AND SALARY INCOME - By Local Government Area, 2008-09

All LGAs in Australia experienced growth in average annual Wage and salary income between 2003-04 and 2008-09. Map 2 shows that the majority of LGAs with high average annual growth rates of Wage and salary income were located in rural agricultural or mining areas. Many LGAs in the Perth metropolitan area also experienced relatively high growth in average Wage and salary income, with average annual growth rates above 6%. Many of the metropolitan areas of Australia's other capital cities experienced average annual growth rates of Wage and salary income that were very close to or only slightly below the Australian average growth rate of 4.8%.

While Brisbane (C) as a whole LGA experienced an above average growth rate of Wage and salary income (5.6%), there are significant variations of income growth between the Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) within this LGA. For example, the inner suburban SLAs of Balmoral, Bulimba and Hawthorne all experienced high growth rates of 7.4%, yet the outer suburban SLAs of Sunnybank, MacGregor and Robertson all had below average growth rates of 3.5%.

Map 2. GROWTH OF AVERAGE ANNUAL WAGE AND SALARY INCOME - By Local Government Area, 2003-04 to 2008-09

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